We are a NASA-funded community of nature lovers and scientists discovering life on the ocean's surface! Go to sea with us! Account managed by Ari Puentes.
Joined April 2021
- Tweets 376
- Following 13
- Followers 2,565
- Likes 651
209 Photos and videos
Pinned Tweet
11 Feb 2022
LET’S PUT OCEAN SURFACE LIFE ON THE MAP!📍Dense life on the ocean surface like this has been reported by naturalists for centuries, yet we still know SO LITTLE about these surface ecosystems…and we need YOUR HELP! [thread] 📸: Scott Horton
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19 May 2023
Look at this adorable little buoy barnacle!!! I love when they’re bright blue like this, sometimes they’re pretty translucent since their diet determines how pigmented they are 💙
Thanks to Sarah-Mae Nelson for finding this beauty! Also peep the GO-SEA ruler 👀
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10 May 2023
GET A LOAD OF THOSE FINS!!! This is a juvenile gurnard in the genus Lepidotrigla which develop pectoral fins that resemble butterfly wings when they’re adults 🦋 this fish has beautiful and unique fins during every life stage! (1/2)
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10 May 2023
The common name gurnard comes from the fact that they can produce sounds with their swim bladders 😱 their other common name, sea robbin, comes from the way that they swim. They fan their fins in and out, resembling bird wings! (2/2)
#gurnard #searobin #lepidotrigla #fish
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1 May 2023
Countershading is a camouflage technique that helps blue sea dragon nudibranchs (Family Glaucidae) blend in. They have a darker side to blend into the blue waves when viewed from above and a lighter side to blend into the bright sky when viewed from underwater!
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1 May 2023
Countershading is also used by whales, dolphins, and sharks but sea dragons have their own spin on things. Usually the lighter part of the animal is the ventral or underside, but in the case of sea dragons, that’s actually their dorsal or back side!
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26 Apr 2023
Sargassum fish (Histrio histrio) blend in so well that it can be hard to see them! Their scientific name “histrio” literally means actor in Latin, in regards to their amazing camouflage and how they fool their prey into basically swimming right into their mouths 🤯
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19 Apr 2023
Had to make some more of these Portuguese man o’ war color palettes 😍 they’re just too beautiful. Which is your favorite?
All photos taken by @rebeccarhelm
#marinebiology #marinebio #portuguesemanowar #physalia #colorpalette #bluebottle
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16 Apr 2023
BARNACLE BONANZA!!! Check out this beached pallet that’s absolutely covered in gooseneck barnacles 😱 I’m sure this pallet was an awesome home for all of these guys! This barnacle jackpot was found by project member sarah-mae on @inaturalist in California.
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11 Apr 2023
For this #TinyTuesday we’ve got the aptly named dwarf violet snail (Janthina exigua). This beautiful specimen found by glinks on @inaturalist has some eggs, which are the reddish sacs attached to the bubble raft.
#beachcombing #marinebiology #janthina #janthinaexigua
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7 Apr 2023
Look at those growth rings 😍 much like trees, you can tell the age of a by-the-wind sailor from the number of rings it has! Thanks to our project member elizabethbettenhausen on @inaturalist for capturing this amazing photo
#marinebiology #beachcombing #velella #bythewindsailor
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22 Mar 2023
Have you ever seen something like this on the beach? This is what blue buttons (Porpita porpita) look like once they’ve been beached for a while! They get a papery consistency and are super easy to overlook. The distinctive feature to look for is the radiating lines
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22 Mar 2023
@inaturalist user amy_d found a whole bunch of these beached blue buttons! Personally, I think they’re still super pretty!
#marinebio #marinebiology #porpita #bluebutton #beachcombing #citizenscience #ocean #porpitaporpita
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17 Mar 2023
ABSOLUTELY BREATHTAKING finds! I feel like these should be called disco ball squid 🪩 but they’re actually called pencil squids (Family Loliginidae). These beauties were found in the amazing Canary Islands by @inaturalist user dennisthediver
#teuthology #blackwater #pencilsquid
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12 Mar 2023
Check out this incredibly photogenic master of disguise, a handsome Sargassumfish (Histrio histrio) found by @inaturalist user jessicakehrli. When these fish are in their natural habitat of floating Sargassum seaweed, you can barely see them!
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9 Mar 2023
The surface ecosystem truly is a bridge between the land and the sea! These small goose barnacles (Lepas pectinata) are making use of a fallen pinecone as their raft
#ocean #surfacelife #marinebiology #barnacles #lepas
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6 Mar 2023
Understanding the ocean would be almost impossible if we only relied on professional scientists! Amateur scientists have always been a critical part of science and furthering our knowledge. I think now is a great time to spread awareness about #communityscience 🧵
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6 Mar 2023
How can you get involved? Thankfully there are lots of resources for finding community science opportunities
ALT A list of places to find community science opportunities including: iNaturalist, NASA, SciStarter, Zooniverse, and citizenscience.gov
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6 Mar 2023
Since most of our following is interested in marine science, I put together a list of some projects (there are even some for landlocked folks that can be done from any computer or smartphone!)
Please feel free to add any other community science projects you know of!
ALT A list of marine community science opportunities including: JellyWatch, NOAA, WHOI, and NASA’s NeMO-Net game
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